Orlando Pre-Draft Camp: Day FourJune 3, 2007Chris Richard did what heís done all week here, now really blowing anyone away, but just playing tough, solid basketball on both ends of the floor. He got all his points very close to the basket here, using his strength to establish low position and go to work on opposing big men. He scored on lay-ups near the basket off his teammatesí dump-offs, putbacks, and even hit two right-handed hook shots, showing better touch than weíre used to seeing.

Defensively, Richard played some strong post defense on Ryvon Covile, using his body to keep his man away from the basket and to force tough shots. He also helped a bit on perimeter defense, hedging on pick-and-roll situations and stepping up when necessary.

Richard may not be an NBA player, but he should get chances in summer league to prove some of the doubters wrong. He has a strong body and he knows how to use it, but at 6í8 without much in the line of offensive skills, itís going to be tough for him to establish a niche in the league. [Read Full Article]Orlando Pre-Draft Camp: Day ThreeJune 1, 2007Chris Richard continued in what has been a pretty solid pre-draft camp for him so far, doing a lot of dirty work for his team and being rewarded for his efforts with production in the stat-sheet as well. Richard actually started off this game fairly slowly, bobbling a couple of potential rebounds and losing the handle on a good pass off his very poor hands. Richard did most of his damage the way he does bestówith simple plays. He set quality screens and moved off the ball for an easy dunk, and scored with his back to the basket on a basic jump-hook. He also hit the glass very well, using his wide, fantastic body to clear out space and go after loose balls with reckless abandon. So while he probably hasnít knocked anyoneís socks off at this camp so far, Richard is quietly helping himself here. [Read Full Article]Orlando Pre-Draft Camp: Day OneMay 30, 2007 Richard had a nice showing in his first bit of work at the Orlando camp. Somewhat of a bull in a china shop type, Richard used his chiseled body and added quickness to power up against other bigs on defensive end. Heíll need to play with that type of tenacity if he hopes to make an NBA roster.
Offensively, Richard was able to finish a number of contested baskets on beautiful feeds from teammates. Richard took the contact and powered through for the soft finish on at least three occasions. He struggled a bit when trying to create more complicated offense for himself inside the post, though, forcing the issue somewhat with his underdeveloped footwork. [Read Full Article]West Coast Workout Swing: Day 5 (Marcus Williams, Jared Dudley, more)May 25, 2007Another future Orlando pre-draft camp participant, Richard averaged considerably less minutes than any of the players here in attendance, but has quite a bit more to show for it. For that reason alone scouts will be watching him very closely in Orlando, since there is a legit case to be made that he has quite a bit more in the tank than he was able to show behind Joakim Noah and Al Horford.

Like his fellow teammate Taurean Green, Richard wasnít much of a drills guy at all. Anything that had to do with perimeter skills looked pretty ugly, including his shot, touch, or ball-handling skills. Richard went up against another beast in Wendell White for a number of one on one games, and the two basically seemed to be focused on who can inflict more pain on each other rather than actually scoring points. Richard has a body like He-Man and is unbelievably strong, so there is quite a bit of pain he can inflict if he puts his mind to it.

In the five on five pick-up games the next day, Richard looked considerably better. He started off the game by draining a spot-up jump-shot from 16 feet out, and then followed that up with a couple of semi-athletic drives spinning into the paint for a hook shot, sometimes throwing an elbow into his defenderís grill just for good measure. He then proceeded to swish a 17-footer when his man was late to come out and guard him. In the post, he took a little bit too long to set up, showing some average footwork in terms of creating offense for himself on the block. Another negative that became quite clear were his poor hands, struggling to catch passes with a bit of zip on them and not being able to take advantage of his brute strength on the offensive glass. [Read Full Article]NCAA Tournament: NBA Draft Stock Watch (Final Four)--Stock UpApril 1, 2007While the Gators didnít get great offensive production from their frontcourt duo of Joakim Noah or Al Horford, it was senior Chris Richard who came off the bench and provided a tremendous lift.

Richard didnít do anything all that flashy, scoring on 7 baskets all right at the hoop. Some came on offensive rebounds, and some where the result of establishing position deep inside the paint and receiving a terrific pass from either Noah or Horford.

Richard is a strong, physical big man with decent athleticism and plenty of tenacity to get the job done inside. While his starting big men have gotten most of the accolades, Richard has played a huge role in his teamís success over the past two years, and legitimately could have started for nearly any team in America if he werenít playing behind two likely top-5 draft picks.

Heíll get a chance to show his stuff in Portsmouth in just a few days, so weíll have a better opportunity to evaluate him. [Read Full Article]